BEATON, JOHN [SSNE 431]
- Surname
- BEATON, BEATOUN, BEATHOUN, BETTON, BEETON, BETHON
- First name
- JOHN
- Title/rank
- LT. COLONEL
- Nationality
- SCOT
- Social status
- OFFICER
Text source
John Beaton must be the officer who took his commission from Robert Monro of Foulis [SSNE 179] who in 1628 had raised a company of troops but was forced to concede his commission and went as a volunteer instead. Captain John Beaton was wounded in action at Stralsund 1628, and received his reckoning by 4/10/1628. He later appears as a captain in Donald Mackay's [SSNE 93] regiment. Certainly by 1635 (if not before) he held the rank of major when he was sent to Scotland to recruit an infantry regiment on John Skytte's [SSNE 6280] behalf, which he joined and served in as a lieutenant-colonel. He recommended Hector Monro of Fowlis [SSNE 3120] to Skytte. He also served as a lieutenant colonel in Alexander Gordon's [SSNE 2499] recruited dragoon regiment.
Dr Bernd Warlich has provided the following information which might relate to this man; The Chronicle of the Jesuits of Paderborn mentions a Scottish officer, Major Bittoni, who served under the command of Wolf Heinrich von Baudissin (who led 4 regiments of Scottish, English and Irish soldiers). 'Bitton'i was taken prisoner on 30 August 1632 by Imperial troops at the siege of this town. The source for this information is:
NEUWÖHNER Andreas, ed., Im Zeichen des Mars. Quellen zur Geschichte des Dreissigjahrigen Krieges und des Westfalischen Friedens in den Stiften Paderborn und Corvey. Studien und Quellen zur Westfalischen Geschichte 35 (Paderborn 1998), p. 51.
The other information is drawn from: Swedish Krigsarkiv, Muster Roll, 1630/36-38; 1635/26,29-31,32; 1636/20-23; 1637/15; 1637/15-17; 1638/21; Swedish Krigsarkiv, Katalog over ruller, vol.31; Swedish Riksarkiv, Depositio Skytteana A:5, E5412; G. Lind, DDA 1573; T. Riis, Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot (Odense, 1988), II, p.120; J. Mackay, 'Mackay's Regiment' in Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, VIII, 1879, p. 186; R. Monro, His Expedition with a worthy Scots Regiment called Mac-Keyes (London, 1637), I, pp. 68 and 82).
This entry has been updated by Dr Thomas Brochard
Service record
- DENMARK-NORWAY, MACKAY'S REGIMENT
- Arrived 1628-01-01, as LIEUTENANT
- Departed 1628-10-04, as CAPTAIN
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN,
- Arrived 1630-01-01
- Departed 1630-12-31
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, JOHAN SKYTTE'S INFANTRY REG.
- Arrived 1635-01-01, as MAJOR
- Departed 1635-12-30, as LIEUTENANT COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, ALEXANDER GORDON
- Arrived 1636-12-31, as LIEUTENANT COLONEL
- Departed 1638-01-01, as LIEUTENANT COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY